Insect Low
Temperature Biology The Sinclair Lab at UWO |
Michael Brown |
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I first found love with Biology at my high school when learning about genetics, ecology, and all that is Darwinian. I have always enjoyed the outdoors, and exploring the world to learn more about ecology and evolution is a favourite past time. I also enjoy playing field lacrosse on Western’s varsity team, and biking on the trails along the Thames river. Having volunteered in the Sinclair lab as a fly wrangler since April 2013, I was eager to get started with my own research through the Bio4999E Thesis course. I am interested in learning more about the importance of the host-microbiota symbiosis within the gut of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. Loads of research has been conducted that demonstrate the importance of symbiotic bacteria, and how the perturbation of the symbiosis (dysbiosis) is detrimental to the host’s health, retards development, and decreases the host’s ability to extract nutrients from foodstuffs. However, the literature exploring the importance of yeasts in the symbiosis is lacking. As such, the goal of my project is to elucidate how selected species of yeast from geographical regions with sympatric fruit flies change the fly’s physiology and cold tolerance. Email me |